China’s getting a new Smart car and you can’t have it — SkimNews
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- Smart #2 specs surfaced through a regulatory filing with China's MIIT, listing two body lengths of 2,751mm and 2,764mm — larger than the outgoing 2,695mm Smart but still among the tiniest cars on sale globally.
- Mercedes and Geely partnered to develop the Smart #2, which the filing shows carries an LFP battery with CATL cells, a 60kW (80hp) motor, a 140 km/h top speed, and a 1,130kg curb weight.
- The Smart #2 concept debuted at the Beijing Motor Show earlier this year, with a full production reveal slated for the Paris Motor Show in October — a remarkably fast four-month concept-to-filing pace.
- Smart plans to sell the #2 in China, Europe, and other global markets — but the US is excluded due to tariffs and software restrictions that have effectively banned Chinese EVs from the American market.
- Geely has stated it is eyeing entry into the US market, leaving a possible future path for the Smart #2 to eventually reach American buyers.
- The regulatory filing confirms the car's badge simply reads "#2," suggesting the name was not a placeholder, and shows optional black or body-color roofs plus multiple wheel designs.
Why it matters: The Smart #2's US exclusion illustrates how tariffs and software restrictions have effectively walled American buyers off from the Chinese auto industry's accelerating EV pipeline, costing them access to a sub-3-meter, CATL-powered city car while Europe and Asia gain a new budget option at a moment of rising energy prices.
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